Dan Wallace Set for Florida’s Championship Season
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 | Men's Swimming & Diving
By Britnee' McCoy
GatorZone.com Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With the Southeastern Conference Championships in his sights this week, senior swimmer Dan Wallace is ready for all the upcoming challenges that await him.
An Olympic hopeful, Wallace is optimistic the Gators can defend their men's title, but Wallace has greater aspirations for himself following the SEC meet in Auburn, Ala. At the end of March, the senior from North Berwick, Scotland will compete at the NCAA Championships in Iowa City, Iowa from March 26-28.
Just two weeks after that meet, Wallace will be competing in the Great Britain trials for this summer's World Championships. In the meantime, his main goal this week is to destroy the competition at hand.
“There are some great world-class swimmers in this conference and I'm fortunate to be able to race them in preparation for my career after Florida,” Wallace said last week of the SEC Championships. “We know each other all pretty well outside of the pool, but I want to beat them as bad as they want to beat me. I hate everyone who I swim against.”
Wallace, a freestyle specialist, will enter the meet as a top seed in the 500-yard freestyle and 400-yard individual medley events. How he fares will go a long way toward whether the Gators can win their third straight league crown (and the 36th in school history).
UF head coach Gregg Troy has been impressed with how Wallace has taken on what looms as a huge year in his career; both collegiately and internationally.
“He has to make sure he keeps his target on each and takes them one at a time,” said Troy, who has crystal-clear understanding of the international calendar, given his time as head coach of the USA squad at the 2012 Olympics and an assistant in two other sets of Games before that. “Dan has been on top of things much more and he's got a little better feel for the big picture. He has some unique things on the horizon.
"It's all about focus, maintaining energy and he's been preparing like that pretty well this year.”
Wallace's path from Scotland to Gainesville is not too much of a surprise given Troy's sterling reputation, as the best swimmers around the world know about the Gator Nation.
“The first time I saw the 'Gator Chomp' back home I had no idea what they were doing, but I continued to see it and once I found what it was it became really special,” Wallace said. “Now I understand the honor behind wearing the Florida gear and getting a chance to stand up on that podium.”
It was the rich history of superstar swimmers, both domestic and international that attracted Wallace to UF. The production of world-class athletes, students, and Florida's coaching staff made his decision easy. However, his transition to life in a new country came with many struggles, and not just the jump from one continent to another.
Wallace came from being the only world-class swimmer in his area to a team filled with them. Wallace stated that it was hard at first, but as he said, “I had to learn to get over myself and embrace the team concept,” as he was now surrounded by other swimming standouts.
Despite his initial nervousness and need to make adjustments, Wallace has had a huge impact on his teammates, including classmate Matt Elliott.
“He's the guy that's always working hard and going the extra mile to get better,” Elliott said. “He's made me a better swimmer. He shows you how good you can be and he's really good at what he does. We both started off at the same speed and now he's passed me. He shows you that it's possible to reach your full potential.”
Elliott went onto to say that the seven-time All-American Wallace is enthusiastic and a guy who he can always look to for advice, motivation, and inspiration.
Wallace, a member gold medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, will keep his focus on one race at a time while trying to add more championships and medals to his already decorated resume.
